This is Oscar, the wayward goose.
The story behind the name is rather a silly one: during the summer of 2009
Dan and Laurie made the decision to leave their home of 28 years, the family
farm on which Dan was born and worked all his life. The reasons for this decision
are no longer important. Suffice it to say, it was a difficult decision to reach with
many heartaches along the way. They searched many months for a suitable farm
where they could relocate, to no avail.
About this time, Margot, their older daughter who was (and still is!) living and working
on Consider Bardwell Farm, emailed home some photos of this funny old goose who had wandered
into her yard, making a pitiful racket. Never having seen him before, she searched for his owner
among her neighbors. It turned out that the owner lived just down the road. He
explained that Oscar was a 20 year old, blind, African Grey goose, whose
partner had just died. In his grief, he set out looking for a new friend and found
Margot. The owner then went on to explain that he was in the process of
having his property appraised so that he could sell it and move to Florida.
He expressed concern about how Oscar would handle this new change.
This set into motion a chain of events, culminating in the purchase of
Oscar's home. To make a long story not quite so long, they promised the
former owner to take good care of Oscar so that the old gentleman
would not have to leave his beloved Vermont home for the tropics
of Florida. And they have!
So, there you have it. If Oscar had not taken it into his head to
go wandering off willy nilly, Dan and Laurie would likely never have known about
the farm that they are so lucky to be living on right now. And the fact
that it borders Consider Bardwell Farm makes it a perfect place
for a partner farm. They decided that a fitting homage to Oscar would be to cast
him as the farm's mascot and name their new home after him. He does a very good
job keeping track of everyone and making sure the cows stay in line. Although
he tends to bump into things quite often, all in all, they think he is happy with the
way things worked out. They know they are.
him as the farm's mascot and name their new home after him. He does a very good
job keeping track of everyone and making sure the cows stay in line. Although
he tends to bump into things quite often, all in all, they think he is happy with the
way things worked out. They know they are.
